Day: May 21, 2017

Out of the blue, Pope Francis today announced that he will be creating five new cardinals on 28 June. What is not surprising is that the new red hats will, for the most part, go to the peripheries of the world. The only new cardinal who was a likely is the archbishop of Barcelona, Spain. The others reside, in Mali, Sweden, Laos and El Salvador.

Archbishop Jean Zerbo, 73, is the archbishop of Bamako, Mali. Although that see has been an archdiocese since 1955, it has never had a cardinal. Cardinal-designate Zerbo was auxiliary bishop of Bamako from 1988 to 1994, Bishop of Mopti from 1994 to 1998, and archbishop of Bamako since then. He has been a clear voice for aid to people suffering from war and terror in Mali and other countries in the southern Sahara.

Archbishop Juan José Omella, 71, is the arcbishop of Barcelona in Spain. He will be the fourth successive archbishop of that city to become a cardinal. Cardinal-designate Omella was auxiliary bishop of Zaragoza from 1996 to 1999, bishop of Barbastro-Monzón from 1999 to 2004, bishop of Calahorra y La Calzada-Logroño from 2004 to 2015, and archbishop of Barcelona since then.

Bishop Anders Arborelius, 67, is the bishop of Stockholm, Sweden. He wil be the first Swedish cardinal, and the first from Scandinavia as a whole. Cardinjal-designate Arborelius has been the bishop of Stockholm since 1998. His appointment is undoubtedly related to Pope Francis’ visit to Sweden in 2016, to mark the 500th anniversary of the Reformation, during which Bishop Arborelius was one of the Pope’s hosts.

Bishop Louis-Marie Ling Mangkhanekhoun, 73, is the vicar apostolic of Pakse, and currently also the apostolic administrator of Vientiane, both in Laos. He will the first Laotian cardinal. He has served as vicar apostolic of Pakse since 2000. Bishop Mangkhanekhoun visited Rome with the other bishops from Laos on an Ad Limina visit in January, during which the idea to create a cardinal from that country may have come to the Pope.

Bishop Gregorio Rosa Chavéz, 74, is auxiliary bishop of San Salvador, El Salvador. He will the only, and perhaps also first, auxiliary bishop to be made a cardinal, as well as El Salvador’s first and only cardinal. He has been auxiliary bishop of the Salvadorian capital since 1982, appointed shortly after the martyrdom of Blessed Archbishop Romero.

All five new cardinals will be cardinal priests as well as cardinal electors. The total number of cardinals will be 227 on 28 June, with 121 of them able to participate in a conclave. This will be Pope Francis’ fourth consistory, in which he has created 60 cardinals.

It has been speculated that Pope Francis would be willing to raise the maximum number of cardinal electors beyond the current 120. While he has exceeded that now by 1, it appears more as if he wants to keep the cardinal electors at 120 or thereabouts as long as possible. Hence the small consistory now (the previous consistory of similar size was Benedict XVI’s last, in 2012, in which he created six cardinals). The Holy Father could have waited until June of 2018, when a further seven cardinals would have aged out, and created 12 or 13 cardinals them, but he is clearly unwilling to wait that long.

“With his down-to-earth faith and his dedication to his mission, Msgr. Ernst meant a lot to many people. Since my installation in 2012 I was able to visit him more often. His health was fragile, but his mind was strong. At the 75th anniversary of his ordination to the priesthood, in 2016, he was barely mobile, but he very much wanted to concelebrate the Eucharist. The Franciscan sisters increasingly watched over him in the past months. He was able to entrust himself to God. He reflected on his fragility and death very soberly. During a visit last year he told me that someone had advised him to prepare for the end of his life. It was a sign of his vitality that he responded with, “Perhaps it is time to do so”.”

Bishop Jan Liesen responds to the news of the passing of Bishop Hubertus Cornelis Antonius Ernst, emeritus bishop of Breda, six weeks after celebrating his 100th birthday. The most senior of the Dutch bishops passed away late in the evening on Friday 19 May.

Bishop Huub Ernst was the 8th bishop of Breda, from 1967 to 1992, after which he served for two more years as apostolic administrator. He lived long enough to see three bishops succeed him: the late Tiny Muskens in 1994, Hans van den Hende, now of Rotterdam, in 2007, and Jan Liesen in 2012. Bishop van den Hende, in his capacity of president of the Dutch Bishops’ Conference, reacted to the passing of Msgr. Ernst on behalf of the other bishops, saying:

“Into very old age Bishop Huub Ernst was vital and concerned with his diocese, the Church province and society as a whole. He was consecrated as a bishop almost fifty years ago. Recently, we were able to congratulate him with his 100th birthday. Bishop Ernst was our older brother in the office of bishop, possessing a great heart for charity and the work of peace.”

Generally respected as a wise and well-spoken man, Bishop Ernst nonetheless never received a university education. In some quarters he was also seen a progressive bishop, which he was to a certain extent on the classic topics like celibacy, homosexuality and women, although he failed to get along with the liberal 8 May movement after this group ignored his advice and used a ‘table prayer’ of their own making at their annual manifestation.

Bishop Ernst in 1967

Bishop Ernst chaired Pax Christi Netherlands from 1976 to 1994, reflecting his concern with the projects of peace in the world. Under his guidance, Pax Christi and the Catholic Church in the Netherlands threw their support behind protests against the presence of nuclear weapons in the Netherlands and the world. In 1983, he spoke before 550,000 protestors in The Hague on this topic. He would later also be highly critical of the war against terrorism waged by the international coalition led by the United States. He based these positions in Pacem in Terris, Pope John XXIII’s 1963 encyclical on peace in the world.

One of Bishop Ernst lasting achievements is considered to be the establishment of Bovendonk seminary in Hoeven near Breda. At his installation in Breda, the Theological Faculty Tilburg was responsible for the formation of priests. In 1983, Bishop Ernst estaiblished Bovendonk specifically for late vocations: men are educated and formed for the permanent and transitional diaconate, as well as the priesthood, initially while also holding their day job. Graduates from Bovendonk currently work in all dioceses of the Netherlands.

The period of Bishop Ernst’s mission leading the Diocese of Breda coincided with a time of great change in Church and society. Over the course of the 1970s, he developed a program based on three observations: a decrease in the number of faithful; the presence of core group of faithful willing to carry responsibility in the Church; and a decrease in the number of priests, deacons and religious. Towards the end of his time in office he had concluded that the Church in the Netherlands was in a missionary situation and a minority in society. Bishop Ernst believed that the Church should distinguish itself through charity and displaying the contents of her faith through language, liturgy and the behaviour of faithful.

Bishop Ernst tried to find a balance between Church doctrine and respect for the conscience of individual people. As such, he participated in the Synod of Bishops meeting of marriage and family in 1980.

Following his restirement, Bishop Ernst continued to speak on topics of ethics and philosophy. In 2007, he reviewed a publication by the Dutch Dominicans calling for lay priests from among the faithful to offer the Eucharist when a real priest was unavailable. Bishop Ernst called this “incorrect, not sensible and not the right solution”.

In 2011, Bishop Ernst was called to testify in a court case against an abusive Salesian priest. The bishop’s claimed to not have been informed about the priest’s past transgressions and found it unimaginable that the Salesians withheld essential information from him when he was asked to appoint the priest in his diocese.

A short overview of the life of Bishop Ernst

1917: Born as oldest child of three in a Catholic family in Breda. He attended primary school at the parish school and the Huijbergen brothers. Subsequently, he went to minor seminary in Ypelaar and then the major seminary in Bovendonk.

1941: Ordained by Bishop Pieter Hopmans. He was appointed as parish assistant in Leur.

1943: Appointed as conrector of the Franciscan sisters in Etten.

1947: Moved to Bovendonk to teach moral theology there.

1957: Appointed as chairman of the (wonderfully-named) Society of Catechists of the Eucharistic Crusade.

1962: Appointed as vicar general of Breda by Bishop Gerard de Vet.

1967: Following the unexpected death of Bishop de Vet, vicar general Ernst succeeds him as bishop. He is consecrated by the archbishop of Utrecht, Cardinal Alfrink.

1980: Bishop Ernst participates in the Synod of Bishops on marriage and family, representing the Dutch episcopate.

1992: Bishop Ernst offers his resignation upon reaching the age of 75. Pope John Paul II appoints him as apostolic administrator pending the appointment of his successor.

About the author

I am Mark de Vries, a 38-year-old lay Catholic from Groningen, the Netherlands, and happily married since March of 2017. I am interested in the Catholic faith and the Church, which is what this blog is for. Other interests include, history, language and a combination of these. I also enjoy reading, drawing, cycling, photography and a good movie or series.

For a personal account about my reasons for becoming and remaining Catholic, go read my story: Why am I Catholic?

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Sancta Maria, hortus conclusus, ora pro nobis!

Sancta Afra, ora pro nobis!

Pope Francis

Bishop of Rome, Vicar of Jesus Christ, Successor of the Prince of the Apostles, Supreme Pontiff of the Universal Church, Primate of Italy, Metropolitan Archbishop of the Province of Rome, Sovereign of the Vatican City State, Servant of the Servants of God

Bishop Ron van den Hout

Bishop of Groningen-Leeuwarden

Willem Cardinal Eijk

Cardinal-Priest of San Callisto, Metropolitan Archbishop of Utrecht

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